The Fire Within

Inseparable,
the wind greets plumeria and skin just the same
its currents
piercing through with a roughness that cannot be explained
no don’t touch me,
I ache not for smudges nor tastes
that linger on
your hands are incompatible with the fire within.

There is a sanguine wonder as lavender melts
into grey
beneath the moonlight, yet my mind is a busy street
as silence
is replaced by warning bells
your eyes are thunderstorm when all I require
is calm.

I find that centuries stutter at imprecise units
of measurement,
at mere movement in the shadows,
at longitude
and latitude lines that form a grid on the Earth
tell me
how do you expect me to let you unearth me
with delight.

I am primrose whose color is used to weave dreams from,
the older I become
the more aware I am of what’s forbidden
as though plucking a strawberry in the light of the morning
before it has turned scarlet,
this insatiate dance of your lips is more than I can handle.

April is a landscape shuddering at the thought of stifling
its song
this isn’t something that I am in favour of
I am the afternoon sun, smouldering yellow
and untried
I am not the type to be teasingly opened.

 

Photo credits: Pinterest

Word List: Inseparable, smudge, centuries, shadows, primrose, forbidden.

Posted for Poetics @ dVerse Poets pub

And Posted for Get Listed @ Real Toads

Posted on Poetry Pantry @ Poets United

64 thoughts on “The Fire Within

  1. Bjorn Rudberg says:

    The wind has it’s way of treating us all the same, wonderful way of catching my attention.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Bjorn πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  2. I really dug your first stanza, a poem by itself. The remaining stanzas were good too, using geographic terms to explicate a lovelorn moment. Your poetic soul keeps emerging as romantic; makes me feel less the angry old man, and more the naive youth who wrestled with love in the day.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Awww gosh! ❀️ Thank you so much, Glenn πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it! ❀️

  3. Jade Li says:

    You express your state of being so well here. A perfect capture of pinpoint coordinates.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Jade Li πŸ˜€ so good to see you ❀️

  4. I like the romance of this, and the wordplay here– “I find that centuries stutter at imprecise units
    of measurement,
    at mere movement in the shadows,
    at longitude
    and latitude lines that form a grid on the Earth
    tell me
    how do you expect me to let you unearth me with delight.”

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Merril πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  5. robtkistner says:

    There is a forbidden sensuality and a tacile frustration embraced in this poem. Beautiful SANAA!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Rob πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  6. The wind like a cat comes and goes as it pleases and teases and cuts and bites! Great poem!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Definitely πŸ˜‰ thanks for stopping by, Dwight ❀️

  7. HA says:

    I have to say this, there is some great sass in this verse. Ha!
    Seriously though, it’s so good in how you portray this reluctance/denial to be a part of something that isn’t welcomed or invited. I somehow found a sense of clarity in your measure and thinking, instead of the naivety or tomfoolery of love and passion, which is so refreshing.
    I loved this bit: “I find that centuries stutter at imprecise units/of measurement,
    at mere movement in the shadows,/at longitude/and latitude lines that form a grid on the Earth/tell me/how do you expect me to let you unearth me with delight.”

    1. Sanaa says:

      Awwww gosh! ❀️ Thank you so much, Anmol πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it! ❀️

      (and thank you for the lovely prompt) 🌹

  8. S M Connor says:

    April is a landscape shuddering at the thought of stifling
    its song

    I love that line – the whole poem conflates time and place, body and space, capturing the confusion of desire/not-desire.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Sarah πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  9. Each stanza in this poem could stand as a poem on its own, Sanaa, and lose none of its impact. I love how you’ve captured wind and fire in the first stanza and the latent sensuality in the lines:
    β€˜I find that centuries stutter at imprecise units
    of measurement,
    at mere movement in the shadows,
    at longitude
    and latitude lines that form a grid on the Earth
    tell me
    how do you expect me to let you unearth me with delight.’

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Kim πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  10. Rall says:

    Beautiful images.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Rall πŸ™‚ so good to see you ❀️

  11. Kerry says:

    I am primrose whose color is used to weave dreams from,
    the older I become
    the more aware I am of what’s forbidden…

    Such beautiful comparative poetry!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Kerry πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  12. Margaret says:

    A poem written by a woman who knows herself… and not so easily taken in by the admiration of a man… Nice.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Margaret πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

      1. gillena says:

        Poems within your poem Sanaa and with each stanza your resonance of “im too old for these mundane games” shines through. Romance i agree (being a romantic at heart, myself) has its highs and lows but yes we do seek something more profound in the end

        Thank you for dropping by my sumie Sunday today

        MuchπŸ’›πŸ’šπŸ’›love

        1. Sanaa says:

          Thank you so much, Gillena πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

          Much❀️❀️love

  13. Frank Hubeny says:

    Nice line: “how do you expect me to let you unearth me with delight”

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Frank πŸ˜€ so good to see you ❀️

  14. Teresa says:

    This is wonderful!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Teresa πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  15. This poem is beautiful… “the wind greets plumeria and skin just the same” I never thought of it that way, but thanks to you I do now!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Susie πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  16. kaykuala h says:

    It is good to put young minds at a safe distance Sanaa, from the marauding males making them confident to face off unwanted advances

    Hank

    1. Sanaa says:

      Definitely πŸ™‚ thanks for stopping by, Hank ❀️

  17. Old Egg says:

    For all the dramatic word play there is an underlying sadness in this poem. I am glad you are that primose though to build dreams from. You have a gift Sanaa to make the words you use mean far more that the dictionary tell us. I loved it.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Robin πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  18. Jim says:

    I like every bit of this one. Mainly I like the battle with the wind and its effects and it is hard to have a favorite. But I do choose the “ sanguine wonder as lavender melts
    into grey
    verse. It tells of the weather’s, I can’t image a man having weather traits, fierce, unforgiving, not given to favorites, etc., problems. Then trying to subdue with latitude and longitude cords got my attention also.
    Nice write, nice selection of prompt words. I enjoy this writing exercise. and reading what the others have come up with. Thank you.
    ..

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Jim πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  19. A very romantic poem. I like your description of the wind in this one. Like a cat…brushes up against usll the same….truly. wind is no repecter of persons or hairdos!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Toni πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  20. annell4 says:

    What a wonderful poem in which to wander!! I love that you used so many words!!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Annell πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  21. Sara McNulty says:

    Your are indeed, a smoldering yellow afternoon sun. Your poetry is a romance to read.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Awwww gosh! ❀️ Thank you so much, Sara πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it! ❀️

  22. One needs to heed those inner warning bells and the thunderclouds when one needs calm. I LOVE the line about April being afraid of stifling its song!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Sherry πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  23. Rommy says:

    A flower bud might love the thrill felt from sunshine and wind, but they and only they get to decide when the time is right for blooming.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Definitely πŸ˜€ thanks for stopping by, Rommy ❀️

  24. ZQ says:

    You melted me away!

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, ZQ πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  25. Wendy Bourke says:

    Love it! And once again, I love the way you build your lines to work – so harmoniously – towards a fantastic finish. In that way, I find your writing to be very organic. That, in turn, imbues your pieces with a wonderful authentic quality.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Wendy πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  26. Myrna says:

    So many beautiful lines here. I love the narrator’s strength to set her limits, to know herself. Great writing Sanaa.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Myrna πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  27. I was struck by the mind being a busy street and that strawberry. The word “scarlet” is always poetic.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Colleen πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

  28. There is so much defiance in her voice. Your chosen image is perfect (as you know). I can see the speaker dancing and twisting as every line shoots out of her entire being.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Magaly πŸ˜€ so glad the poem resonated with you ❀️

  29. Thotpurge says:

    the wind greets plumeria and skin just the same…. that is a lovely image…

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Rajani πŸ˜€ so glad you liked it ❀️

  30. dsnake1 says:

    exquisite, and with a touch of toughness and steel in it.
    “plucking a strawberry in the light of the morning
    before it has turned scarlet”
    : what a memorable image! πŸ™‚

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Lee San πŸ˜€ so good to see you ❀️

  31. I’m in awe of your brilliant wording, and the way you weave flowers, weather and relationship together to create new insights and arrive at new certainties.

    1. Sanaa says:

      Thank you so much, Rosemary πŸ˜€ so glad you enjoyed it ❀️

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